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Growth and Development

Frontier Communities Get a New Advocate

Bryce Oates · Jan 23, 2020

Stacey Cox, the new director of the National Center for Frontier Communities, wants to focus on building resilience and delivering resources. Frontier regions constitute nearly half of the nation's land area but only 2 percent of its population.

Commentary: Making Our Towns Better Places to Live

Scott Thompson · Jan 10, 2020

A holistic approach to community development means looking beyond strict economics to other factors that sustain rural communities.

Health

Commentary: Successful Rural Development Means Fighting Addiction

Hilda Legg · Dec 15, 2019

Rural communities cannot thrive when addiction eats away at their foundations, says Kentucky’s state director of USDA Rural Development.

Growth and Development

Analysis: Rural Development Through Collaboration and Leadership

Stuart Rosenfeld · Nov 29, 2019

People and relationships may be some of the biggest assets of small cities and rural areas. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is looking for ways to help communities build stronger economies based on these strengths.

Growth and Development

Commentary: How Rural Areas Can Avoid Being Undercounted in the Census

Amanda Gold and Yipeng Su · Nov 4, 2019

Will rural America gain population in the next Census? Part of that depends on how well rural people get counted. With billions of dollars and political representation on the line, rural places have a lot of reasons to prepare for the 2020…

Economy

Rural America Ready for an Infusion of Investment, Panelists Say

Charlie Zong · Jun 12, 2019

Rural communities lack assets, not opportunities, say participants in a national forum. Groups like the Brookings Institution that argue for metropolitan-only investment strategies ignore the economic and social realities of contemporary…

Growth and Development

Rural Policies will be the Focus of International Conference

Joe Belden and Chris McDonald · Jun 11, 2019

Rural America isn’t alone in dealing with issues like economic inequality, outmigration, resource extraction, and Indigenous peoples’ rights. A biennial international conference this fall will bring together leaders from the U.S. and other…

Growth and Development

Nonmetro Counties Gain Pop. For 2nd Straight Year

Tim Marema · Apr 18, 2019

Rural America’s population grew by 0.1 percent from 20017 to 2018. The growth was small and clustered near metropolitan areas. But it reverses the trend of population loss that occurred from 2011 to 2016.

Environment

Letter from Langdon: The ‘Maybe Disaster’ of Northwest Missouri

Chris Poore · Apr 16, 2019

As flood debris festers in the spring sunshine, Congress and the state of Missouri can’t make up their minds whether to help – or even if there is a disaster. Meanwhile, the only thing getting repaired are the railroads.

Growth and Development

Land Use Planning More Effective Than Logging to Reduce Wildfire Risk

Kelly Pohl · Feb 15, 2019

Timber management on federal lands can be justified for valid reasons — protecting watersheds, conserving wildlife habitat, promoting overall forest health — but it rarely helps communities confront looming wildfire disasters. The best…

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